Sanctity
by bones freek
Summary: Based on some vaguely fresh spoilers out there. Just a little one-shot I cooked up at one in the morning. WARNING: SPOILERS! few, but still I don't own Bones.


A man walks into a bar. But, it's not just a bar; it's his sanctity.

He takes a seat at a nearby table and orders a beer. To onlookers he seems lonely, like a bachelor waiting for some other girl to flirt with him. In the distance, there was a girl, not the one he wanted, but someone who admired his good looks and for a moment he felt wanted. But, he shrugged the feeling off.

This woman, the one who ogled him from across the way, giggled to her friend and jumped out of her chair to straighten her skirt. This man looked up as the door opened and he smiled genuinely. His partner never failed to put a smile on his face.

Brennan bumps the young woman, accidentally of course, and apologizes. The look on this other woman's face shows disappointment, and so she feels that Brennan apologized for not only the push, but for taking away what could've been a good night for her.

She sat next to her partner with a huff followed by a deep sigh. Booth ordered two extra beers and smiled at her.

"What?" she asked. Such a simple question, but there were too many ways for him to answer it. So, he didn't answer with words, but shook his head. They ordered food, a steak for him and a veggie burger for her and shared the fries. She filled the silence with what she considered 'small talk'. And he allowed her to speak, occasionally nodding or adding a comment.

This is what he looked forward to every time they closed a case: the quality time he got to spend with her. He could spend hours with her, and he'd always wanted to. Yet, she seemed to have other plans. She had gone out with Hacker again the previous night. Which time was this? The seventh? Sixth? He didn't like to keep count, but it ate at Booth consistently. It was highly irritating and he couldn't find a way to tell her that he himself had had a date. That was, until, she stopped talking. "How was your, uh, coffee with Hacker?"

"It was nice." Seeley didn't care for the men she saw, but he would always ask just to make sure she was happy. It was all he wanted. Brennan was about to speak, he could tell, so he cut her off instead of being the in-love coward he was, "I had a date the other day, too." Relieved to get the admittance part over with, he sighed and relaxed a bit. Booth looked up and into her face, which was a bit surprised and disheartened.

"Did you? I didn't know you were seeing someone, Booth." Temperance downed the last of her drink, which wasn't enough, and ordered another. How could she not have known?

"Yeah. Dr. Klein, you know, Catherine?" He didn't know what to say, or do for that matter. He glanced down at his beer, which was sweating just as much as his clenched hand was.

"And how did that go?" Oh, how she hoped he would say: "Terribly. She and I have absolutely nothing in common, and she's kinda boring". She mentally crossed her fingers, but that helped with nothing, of course. That new beer arrived and she could not be happier, **'Thank you, dear waiter! You will be getting a generous tip.' **

"It was great. She's very sweet and funny and attractive. We hit it off." Booth smiled down at his hands and Temperance felt the anxiety build up in her. "Thanks for asking, Bones." If she was happy, why couldn't he be, also? He'd wanted her for such a long period of time; it was ridiculous. She wasn't going to come around any time soon. Seeley really didn't need to miss some other opportunity with another great woman who liked him. He was tired of waiting for the world renowned anthropologist who is on the best-sellers list. He was drained from trying to drop little hints and lightly flirting with her. Emotionally exhausted from hearing the simplest things about her dates with jerks who didn't give a damn about who she was, as long as she was puttin' out. He wanted happiness.

"I'm, um, I'm glad you enjoyed your time with Dr. Klein." She had to tell him sooner or later right? **'Speak now, Temperance. Now or keep it bottled up for another five years, or until you're sitting in a church watching him get married.' **"You know, Andrew is a very nice man, but I feel as if something is... missing or he's lacking in some area of his personality. Surely, he is kind. But every time we go somewhere together, he brings you up."

**'Son-of-a-'** "Really? What does he say?" Booth was not about to let some idiot degrade his status.

"He asks if you're polite and trustworthy and caring. And every time I shy away from the subject, his demeanor changes. It's like he's dating me to watch your performance as an FBI agent."

"Well, that's going to stop. Soon. Listen, I'm sorry Bones. I didn't know. I'm just, I'm sorry you have to go through that." His apology was absolutely sincere. All he asked of his God was for Him to watch over his partner.

"It's fine Booth. I told him I didn't want to see him anymore... and that I have other things I could be doing with my time that would satisfy me more." He had no idea where this was coming from or where it was going. "What other things, Bones?"

"Spending my free time with you. It means a lot to me, so the fact that he kept bringing you up, just made me..." Booth was going to have a heart attack in the middle of the bar. What was she telling him?

"Made you..."

"Miss you. It made me miss you." She wasn't fully satisfied with the way it all seemed to pour out of her, but Brennan wanted him to know this. And why did he look so confused to her? Was he upset? "Booth?"

"What are you saying here?" Seeley wasn't sure if she meant _"I missed you because we usually go out, it's our thing as partners."_ or _"I missed you because I finally realized how irrational I was being by holding my emotions in."_ He was desperate for the latter explanation.

"That I missed you. I missed us going out almost every night. I wanted to leave Hacker in the middle of it all to go find you because he isn't you. He's not... him and I aren't... we're not suited for each other like you and I. Science shows that on occasion, a presence of one thing or person will affect the growth of something else. Whether it be good or bad. Your presence has done nothing to me but change me for the better, Booth. It's you who was originally intended for me. And I see this now, and unfortunately, it's too late. You are happy with Dr. Klein. Therefore, I'm sorry to burden you with my screwed up emotions and horrible timing." And just like that, she left. Without any more words. Left him alone, in a bar, his newly ruined sanctity, with nothing but a churning gut.


End file.
